Jokic, Westbrook, Nuggets Beat Harden, Clippers in OT in Game 1 to Thrill NBA Fans

Nikola Jokić's near-triple double and Russell Westbrook's clutch plays on both ends propelled the Denver Nuggets to a 112-110 home win over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 1 of their NBA Western Conference first-round playoff series.

Jokić finished with 29 points, 12 assists, nine rebounds and three steals to lead the No. 4 seed Nuggets, who warded off a tremendous 32-point, 11-assist effort from James Harden for the No. 5 seed Clippers.

Westbrook, who finished with 15 points and eight rebounds off the bench, hit a clutch wide-open three with 24 seconds left in regulation for a 98-96 advantage.

After the Clippers forced OT, Westbrook then made a huge defensive play with 10 seconds left in the extra session and Denver up 110-107, forcing a turnover after deflecting Nicolas Batum's inbounds pass off Harden and out-of-bounds.

This was a tremendous game that got to OT after Harden hit a short floater for the 98-all tie.

In OT, Denver guard Christian Braun hit a clutch three with one minute left to give Denver a 108-104 lead, but Harden later responded with a three of his own to cut the Nugget edge to 108-107 with 28 seconds remaining.

On the other end, Harden blocked a Russell Westbrook layup, but Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon grabbed the offensive rebound. He was fouled but made two free throws for a 110-107 edge. Gordon finished with 25 points and eight boards.

Those free throws led to the Westbrook play, but Jokić then got fouled and hit two free throws to seal this one. A Norman Powell three in the final second was too little and too late, and the Nuggets took Game 1.

This was an incredible comeback for the Nuggets, who were once down 15 points in the second quarter but rallied all the way back against a Clippers team that also featured Kawhi Leonard's 22 points and Ivica Zubac's 21 points and 13 rebounds.

Denver has gone through some adversity of late with the team deciding to part ways with head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth on April 8, but on this day, Jokić's amazing play, Westbrook's heroics and Gordon's clutch scoring got it done.

This series looks like a potential classic, and Game 2 will go down Monday evening in Denver's Ball Arena at 10 p.m. ET.